Not Your Average Travel Stories: Week of July 15

Question of the day: How do you forget you’re carrying a handgun? It’s the standard response when the TSA finds one in passenger luggage and was the excuse offered up by a 79 year old man at Buffalo’s airport. Naturally, it was loaded. So we have to ask: Would you forget?

Vintage travel posters: Boston’s Public Library has catalogued some old posters that were supposed to lure travelers but did they? The collection includes, “India, the Land of Lord Buddha” and “Ireland, the Land of Eternal Youth”.

Motorist hits officer: A woman in an SUV at Southern California’s John Wayne Airport was arrested for allegedly trying to run over a cop on a bicycle. The Duke would not approve.

The American way: The merging carrier posted a $220 million dollar profit for 2Q – for the first time in six years. Perhaps the new paint job helped.

Passenger plight: Not a good week for some travelers who got stuck on planes, buses and even a monorail (but don’t blame Mickey for this one).

Air Disney: An American Airlines plane gets to play a cameo in Disney’s new movie – a Cars spinoff called Planes. Is this smart branding or does it sound a little Goofy?

Okay, now the lawsuit’s off: Apparently cooler heads prevailed at Asiana Airlines and they are not going to sue a local TV station for ‘smearing’ their reputation.

Higher power: A report out of China says some flight attendants there have been trying to avoid delays by praying to “punctuality gods”. So far it’s not working.

Unfriendly skies? The New York Post reports that NYC mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio claims Saudi Arabia Airlines refuses to transport Israeli citizens which would seem to be a violation of U.S. law. Thoughts?UPDATE: The airline’s director reportedly defended the ban on transporting Israelis because there are “no political relations” between the two countries.

Asiana will sue: The airline involved in the crash landing in San Francisco says it will sue a local TV station which reported bogus names of the pilots involved because the names were “racially discriminatory” and supposedly damaged the airline’s reputation. Ah.

Never lose another bag: I found out the secret – unfortunately, I found out the hard way.

What not to say at the airport: A passenger at Lubbock told security, “There are two pounds of C-4 in there, be careful.” They were, and shut down the terminal for two hours while bomb squad investigated. And yes, the guy was arrested.

$100 to change seats: Guy #1 offers a fellow passenger $100 to change seats with him, is outraged when he’s turned down. Guy #2 may have known Guy #1 owns a company supposedly worth a billion and was simply holding out for a better offer.